The Whetstone Audio Hootenanny

It's kind of amazing when an idea pops into your head, you plan for it and you execute it--and it's a success. Our idea for a music event in Austin came from humble beginnings. I've been in Texas for more than two years, Colleen Cardas has been here in Austin since early March, Bob and Stacy Clarke of Profundo moved to Round Rock a couple of months ago and Brian Di Frank of Whetstone has been here the whole time. We've joked about building an Austin Hi-fi Empire ever since we all got together, and I think we set a proper foundation last night by hosting our very first Hootenanny at Whetstone Audio.

The idea was simple. The Clarkes represent such stellar brands as Trenner & Friedl, Heed, Transfiguration and VivA, and Colleen and I represent Unison Research and Opera Loudspeakers. What if we each assembled a system in Whetstone Audio and invited everyone in Central Texas to come to Austin, drink some beer, eat some pizza and listen to our best efforts? Although Colleen Cardas Imports and Profundo are technically "competitors" for your high-end audio dollar, we're all good friends and know that there's always room in the marketplace for high-quality music reproduction.

We only had one problem: how many people would show? Although there are a handful of high-end dealers in Austin, this is a music town, and the old audiophile adage that musicians tend to have shitty audio systems (mostly because they're spoiled by the real thing, and partially because many musicians tend to be po') may influence the number of people who would be interested in such an event.

After we all set up our systems and fine tuned them in Whetstone Audio's big yet crowded sales floor (Brian has a ton of great gear on display), we waited for 6pm to arrive with a modicum of nervousness. Brian ordered two Gigantor pizzas and plenty of beer supplied by Jester King Brewery, and the Clarkes brought some amazing wine from their extensive cellar, and we all wondered how much food and drink we would have to take home at the end of the night.

When 6pm arrived, cars started pulling up--much to my surprise. By 7pm, the place was packed. Suddenly, Bob and I were coerced into a stereo war, where he would play one track and I would play one track. Our systems were very different (his was solid state with a lot of power and dynamics, ours was tube-based and airy and delicate), but the crowd was equally thrilled by both types of sound. I will say one thing in the spirit of self-promotion: chicks dig our Giro turntable. There were a handful of women at the event, and every single one of them loved its looks. One even turned to her significant other and said, "We need to get one." Talk about WAF (Wife Acceptance factor).

By the end of the night we were all tired, yet excited and happy. We're even leaving the system at Whetstone for the next week or so because we were too tired to break it all down. (So if you want to come by and check it out, feel free!) We are planning future events at Whetstone, especially since Unison and Opera are introducing so many new products in the coming months--including a music server and a DAC. The Clarkes also want to keep coming to Whetstone. By the way, Brian will be hosting an event next month with Sean Casey of Zu, so check out Whetstone Audio for more details.

Setting up for the Hootenanny

Here are some quick pre-pics of the Hootenanny we held at Whetstone Audio last night. I'll blog about the whole event in a bit, but I thought I'd give you a little insight into what goes into the planning of these events.

Here's a pic of the system as it started to take place. We decided on the Unison Research Giro turntable ($3995) with the matching Unison Research UN1 cartridge ($550), as well as the Unison Research CDE CD player ($3995) as sources. We used the Unison Research Simply Phono phono stage ($1600) and its outboard power supply ($800). It was powered by the incredible Unison Research S6 integrated amplifier ($4895), which is a single-ended (parallel) pure Class A design that creates 30 wpc with EL34s from Tung-Sol. Everything was hooked up to the flagship Opera Callas Grand loudspeakers ($9995 per pair) with Cardas Audio Clear Light cable throughout.

Here's Bob Clarke of Profundo helping out by attaching the feet to the Opera Grand Callas loudspeakers. Bob and Whetstone Audio's Brian Di Frank helped out enormously during setup. Bob had come in earlier in the week and set up his system which included the brand new Trenner & Friedl Pharoah speakers, Heed Audio amplification and a Well-Tempered Amadeus with Dynavector 20X cartridge that was supplied by Brian.

Here's another view of the Callas Grands as they were being prepared. Note that beautiful mahogany veneer on the sides...I think this is the most beautiful wood I've ever seen on a pair of speakers, although the wood grain patterns on the Pharoahs were equally intriguing with their almost Asian appearance.

Even as we were working, Brian still had customers coming in. Here Brian is installing an Ortofon OM-5e cartridge on a customer's old Pioneer turntable. The customer came over and glanced at all the Rega turntables Brian had on display, and I think he talked himself into getting an RP1 turntable down the road. He stopped and admired our Giro turntable and probably said to himself, "One day, one day..."

And here's the system set up and ready to go. I have to admit that I loved hearing the Callas Grands in a much bigger room than mine (which is only about 12' by 14' with 11' ceilings). The rear-firing tweeters on the Operas need plenty of space around them to achieve a truly giant and extended soundstage. By 2pm I had the turntable assembled and the cartridge aligned (the arm on the Giro is exceptionally easy to work with and I had everything dialed in within 20 minutes or so). The system had a full four hours to warm up and play before the first guests started arriving at 6pm.